Barcelo Maya Palace Brides

[MrsC-to-Be]

Hi Michelle. you and I are in the same boat with waiting! I feel better thought that some of you on here said you simply re-reserved the date if need be. I'm just anxious to get stuff BOOKED

[prettypigpig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaraW Just be careful ladies if you book too early, we booked in July of last year with Signature Vacations and they told us that we had rooms at the hotel, flights lined up and everything. They were just waiting to give us our flight schedule. All we had to do is pay the $150 deposit, and pay in full on March 17th. But this past week they told us they don't have rooms with the Barcelo because they've decided not to renew their contract with the Barcelo. Just like FutureMrsG said, the prices (and usually anything) is subject to change until full payment is made. I know this probably doesn't happen too often, but it was a terrible situation to be in. We had to change our wedding date and everything! You can read my review of Signature Vacations under "Bride Referrals" where it gives a more detailed explanation fo what happened. Just be careful when booking so early. We wish we waited until the our operators had their flight details, and packages available otherwise they're just making a guess on what it could cost you, and when you'll fly, but once they get their packages for that month your wedding is in, it could COMPLETELY change. Cara

Cara,

Don't scare the ladies. The reason why u ended up in this mess is because Signature was acquired by Sunwings (a lower quality tour operators in Canada), and they re-structured their hotel offerings. My TA told me that Signature used to offer the best wedding packages and has the best brochure for destination wedding, but she can no longer give me the brochure because she isn't sure what will have to Signature offerings once they are fully intergrated with SunWing Vacations.

[CaraW]

Bonnie - I am not trying to SCARE the ladies, I am trying to give them a heads up. Bottom line is, no tour operator - be it Signature, Transat, anyone has any packages a year in advance. I'm not saying don't book, put down a deposit to hold your spot (which is what we did, and it was refunded to us after Signature wrecked all of our plans). Just know that NO ONE can know what kind of flights or accomodations they will have available a year in advance.

The reason why I "ended up in this mess" was because Signature decided all of a sudden not to renew their contract with the Barcelo... and they told us all along we were booked. I'm not trying to say this is going to happen to anyone else, everyone just needs to know that nothing is guaranteed when you are booking so far in advance. It's all only a guess........

[prettypigpig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaraW Bonnie - I am not trying to SCARE the ladies, I am trying to give them a heads up. Bottom line is, no tour operator - be it Signature, Transat, anyone has any packages a year in advance. I'm not saying don't book, put down a deposit to hold your spot (which is what we did, and it was refunded to us after Signature wrecked all of our plans). Just know that NO ONE can know what kind of flights or accomodations they will have available a year in advance. The reason why I "ended up in this mess" was because Signature decided all of a sudden not to renew their contract with the Barcelo... and they told us all along we were booked. I'm not trying to say this is going to happen to anyone else, everyone just needs to know that nothing is guaranteed when you are booking so far in advance. It's all only a guess........

I know! This is always an unknown, beside the tour operator, the hotel can go bankrupt, and the airline too (remember JetsGO?), it is a risk that all destination brides have to take, especially in this fragile economy. The bright side is..at least we are not getting married in Greece, Spain...Portugual where everyone is on strike! You can still book your trip/package with Air Canada or Air Transat. Stay positive whenever there is a road block!

[diamondpooch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by prettypigpig External DJ = a DJ u can hire from the region, but not on the resort's preferred list/ not the resort's DJ Usually, u have to pay a fee/day pass/book a room for a night in order to get ur vendors into ur resort.

Quote:

Originally Posted by breens As far as the DJ, we used them from the resort, and they were great! They kept everyone up and dancing the whole night (we had a 5 hour reception 6:30-11:30). Because we could not get in direct contact with them before we went down to Mexico (despite several attempts through the WC) we made sure to download songs onto our iphone that we needed for our special dances (first dance, father-daughter, etc) and ones our friends/we love, and he gladly played them for us. It was $580 for the first two hours and $110 each additional hour. For outside DJ vendors, do double check with outside prices. I have heard they need a day pass purchase and I have heard something about "electricity" prices. Not to scare you, just a heads up. As far as the room situation. I had sent a request for room blocks for certain groups (ie. younger friend party group, parent groups-separate areas for divorced parents, and our room-which we wanted away from others). In the end they kind of accommodated. All the rooms that needed separate beds had them, but a few "couple" rooms had two doubles instead of a king. If you feel that it is imperative that elderly guests, or special accommodation guests need the one bed or any special arrangements, my suggestion would be to detail that in their room booking notes, as well as call down to the resort and speak with the front desk/reservations manager. Of course, still send that information to the WC when they ask for it (she requested ours approximately a month before we were heading down). Hope that helps!

The rule with outside DJ's is that they just have to pay a fee for the use of the resorts electricity. I'm using DJ Mannia, and they will allow you to rent a generator for $80 and then the resort electricity fee goes away. There is no outside vendor fee per se.

[bride2b10]

Diamondpooch - how is planning going? You are only a month ahead of me

[bride2b10]

oh nevermind, I thought you were 2010?

[MObride09]

Hey there Diamondpooch! Haven't seen you on here in a while....I noticed the date change, Sad I won't get to meet you in May Hope all is going well!

[sfrench0621]

Has anyone else used the resort DJ? I am definitely doing the mariachi for 45 mins and am thinking of booking the DJ for the rest of the reception to keep things running smoothly.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamondpooch The rule with outside DJ's is that they just have to pay a fee for the use of the resorts electricity. I'm using DJ Mannia, and they will allow you to rent a generator for $80 and then the resort electricity fee goes away. There is no outside vendor fee per se.

[FutureMrsG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by breens As far as the DJ, we used them from the resort, and they were great! They kept everyone up and dancing the whole night (we had a 5 hour reception 6:30-11:30). Because we could not get in direct contact with them before we went down to Mexico (despite several attempts through the WC) we made sure to download songs onto our iphone that we needed for our special dances (first dance, father-daughter, etc) and ones our friends/we love, and he gladly played them for us. It was $580 for the first two hours and $110 each additional hour. For outside DJ vendors, do double check with outside prices. I have heard they need a day pass purchase and I have heard something about "electricity" prices. Not to scare you, just a heads up. As far as the room situation. I had sent a request for room blocks for certain groups (ie. younger friend party group, parent groups-separate areas for divorced parents, and our room-which we wanted away from others). In the end they kind of accommodated. All the rooms that needed separate beds had them, but a few "couple" rooms had two doubles instead of a king. If you feel that it is imperative that elderly guests, or special accommodation guests need the one bed or any special arrangements, my suggestion would be to detail that in their room booking notes, as well as call down to the resort and speak with the front desk/reservations manager. Of course, still send that information to the WC when they ask for it (she requested ours approximately a month before we were heading down). Hope that helps!

sfrench0621- When I posted this question breens provided a very useful review in the first paragraph above.